Call me crazy, but Carolina will bring home the ACC championship.

Yes, Clemson is the best team in the ACC and a touchdown favorite over the Tar Heels in the championship game in Charlotte. But, statistics aside, here is why UNC wins its first conference football crown in 42 years. And it’s all about why a good offense beats a good defense.

The Heels are at the top of all ACC offensive categories while the Tigers are in the middle of most defensive stats. Drake Maye has been off his last two games, but now that he’s won every ACC accolade he will return to form against the ninth-rated pass defense in the league.

And it just feels like the right time to win a very big game.

Carolina must stop Clemson’s rushing attack behind NC-native Will Shipley and Phil Mafah and contain quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei, who is a better runner than passer. He went only 8 for 29 in the home loss to South Carolina that ended the Tigers’ hopes of getting back to the College Football Playoff. That is a big point of my pick.

Dabo Swinney, his team and their fans are hungover from failing for the second straight season to get back to CFP, which they played in for six straight years from 2015-2020, winning two national championships, only to miss out again. When that has become part of your DNA, what does winning the ACC championship really matter?

Even the Clemson bloggers are talking about the lack of fire around the program’s attempt to win another ACC title with nothing else at stake. It’s the one psychological advantage Carolina has off the field to go with Maye’s ability to shred a defense. The Tar Heels have a better chance of scoring in this game than do the Tigers.

Mack Brown’s best teams in Chapel Hill did not win an ACC championship because of Florida State’s dominance in the 1990s. The school’s last of five came in 1980 when Brown was cutting his teeth as a 29-year-old assistant coach at Iowa State.

The last two losses to Georgia Tech and N.C. State would have been demoralizing if Carolina hadn’t already locked up the Coastal Division and a spot in this ABC nationally-televised game at 8 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium. This is another chance to right the wrongs of this season and years past.

The Tar Heels are among the most dangerous offensive teams in the country, and I like them to prove it again and win in a shootout.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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